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Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Teacher in Residence Carolyn Bennett's recent blog post explored the sounds and functions of bugle calls as a form of communication for troops from a musical perspective. This post describes ways in which coding allows students to explore different aspects of these calls.
Posted in: Fine and Performing Arts, Science Technology and Math, Veterans and Military History
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Imagine a noisy battlefield, encampment, or port city. A commander has hundreds of men. Wireless communications have not yet been invented. How do the troops receive orders and coordinate movements? During the Civil War, this was the role of the bugle.
Posted in: Fine and Performing Arts, Veterans and Military History
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Elementary students frequently learn about states of matter and may even build solar ovens or insulation boxes for experiments. While creating insulation boxes might seem to be a relatively simple science experiment today, methods such as these were once essential to providing safe food storage.
Posted in: Industrial United States, World Wars and the Great Depression (1914-1945), Science Technology and Math
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
In the January-February 2019 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article discusses the Life of Omar ibn Said, the only known extant narrative written in Arabic by an enslaved person in the United States. Analyzing this unique manuscript provides students with an opportunity to expand their understanding of some of the people who were brought to the United States from Africa to be enslaved. How educated were they? What did they believe?
Posted in: African American History, Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877), Teaching Tools, World History
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Students can understand more deeply and perform more authentically when they examine some of the threads bound up within a song's cultural history. "This Little Light of Mine" is a prime example: Predating the struggle for civil rights, it takes on new shades of meaning every time it is sung.
Posted in: Culture and Folklife, Fine and Performing Arts
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Throughout the nineteenth century, singing schools supported building music skills for community singing in church and home
Posted in: Fine and Performing Arts, News and Events
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
In 1866, William O. Bourne organized a unique left-handed penmanship contest for Union veterans who had lost the use of their right hand. Veterans were encouraged to submit a letter they had written using their left hand and a total prize money of $1000.00 was offered. The Library of Congress holds the many of the entrants’ letters and other information on Bourne and the contest.
Posted in: African American History, Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877), Veterans and Military History
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
In addition to being fun, by design children’s songs teach valuable critical thinking skills.
Posted in: Culture and Folklife, Fine and Performing Arts
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Join Library experts for an hour on February 12, 4-5 pm ET, and hear how all transcriptions are made and reviewed by volunteers before they are returned to the Library's website. Discuss the possibilities of using this tool in your work with students.
Posted in: News and Events